In today's office, proliferation of many different types of telecommunications and computer-related equipment has created a number of problems. For example, computers and computer-related equipment (such as printers, data terminals, and file servers) are often interconnected by direct wiring or local area networks (LANs). Such LANs may use either wire or wireless communication paths. On the other hand, telecommunication equipment is also interconnected to telecommunication switching systems such as central offices or private branch exchanges (PBXs) by wire or wireless techniques. Prior art wireless telecommunication arrangements (such as cordless or cellular telephones) suffer from a problem of insufficient communication spectrum to accommodate the amount of telecommunication equipment used in a modem business site having a large number of private and group offices. Further, the prior art LAN and telecommunication systems are separate and distinct. Within the same office, this often results in having one data terminal connected to the LAN system and another data terminal (that is of the same type as the one connected to the LAN system) connected to the telecommunication system. The other terminal provides access to a remote computer system; whereas, the data terminal attached to the LAN is providing access to local equipment. With the advent of ISDN, telecommunication systems have increased data switching capacity for remote connection use and have better service capabilities. The result is that the use of two distinct transport systems within an office has become less acceptable because of increasing use of ISDN facilities to communicate data over large distances with data destined for equipment interconnected to a LAN.
A second problem is the large amount of cabling needed to interconnect equipment to these two transport systems within a private office. The cabling is expensive to install initially and to change during subsequent relocation of equipment within the office. Further, such cabling is unsightly and unacceptable in many office environments.